Some carried napalm, CBU's and large bombs; some risked their
lives to rescue others. Some escaped the fear, but dealt with the
death and damage. Some made very hard decisions, and some just
tried to survive.

They carried malaria, dysentery, ringworms and leaches. They
carried the land itself as it hardened on their boots. They carried
stationery, pencils, and pictures of their loved ones - real and
imagined. They carried love for people in the real world and love
for one another. And sometimes they disguised that love: "Don't
mean nothin'!"

They carried memories.

For the most part, they carried themselves with poise and a
kind of dignity. Now and then, there were times when panic set in,
and people squealed - or wanted to, but couldn't; when they
twitched and made moaning sounds and covered their heads and
said "Dear God" and hugged the earth and fired their weapons
blindly and cringed and begged for the noise to stop and went wild
and made stupid promises to themselves and God and their parents,
hoping not to die.

They carried the traditions of the United States military, and
memories and images of those who served before them. They
carried grief, terror, longing and their reputations. They carried
the soldier's greatest fear: the embarrassment of dishonor. They
crawled into tunnels, walked point, and advanced under fire, so
as not to die of embarrassment. They were afraid of dying, but
too afraid to show it. They carried the emotional baggage of men
and women who might die at any moment. They carried the weight
of the world.

TShooters
Member
Posts: 126
(5/10/01 10:01:43 am)
| Del Re: carried
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One of the guys on another area attributed that to Tim O'Brien, who has a book by the same name. I bet it's well worth reading.

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